


범죄 (Crime) |||

by joel_on



Series: 범죄 (Crime) [3]
Category: K-pop, Monsta X (Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Bottom Chae Hyungwon, Boy x boy, Crimes & Criminals, HyungWonho - Freeform, Love, M/M, Police, Serial Killers, Taboo Themes, Top Lee Hoseok | Wonho, Violence, mature contect
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-16 10:21:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29330742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joel_on/pseuds/joel_on
Summary: „You‘re an abomination!“„I‘m a great teacher.“„You‘re doing it wrong.“„I‘m gonna make you a real man.“„An abomination!“His fist hit the mirror. Why wouldn‘t those voices shut up?Wonho, Hyungwon and the rest of the Team need to solve a new case, but some cases just crawl deeper under your skin than others.This is part 3 of a series. However it’s completely fine if you didn’t read part 1 or 2. Each part stands for itself.
Relationships: Chae Hyungwon/Lee Hoseok | Wonho, Jeon Jungkook/Park Jimin, Jung Hoseok | J-Hope/Min Yoongi | Suga, Lee Hoseok | Wonho/Everyone, Min Yoongi | Suga/Park Jimin
Series: 범죄 (Crime) [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2033644
Comments: 5
Kudos: 4





	1. Amore

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER 
> 
> There might be some triggering themes. Especially in case of rape and religious beliefs.  
> I DO NOT want to harm anyone or DO NOT want to blame anyone’s beliefs. It’s just fiction based on real events.

Wonho turned on the mattress, expecting his arm to wrap around the sleeping figure of his boyfriend’s slim frame. An annoyed sigh left his mouth and he tried hard to open his tired eyes when his arm hit the empty mattress instead. It took his eyes a few more seconds to adjust to the darkness of his own bedroom, as his surroundings got clearer. Everything was still were it had been before he had drifted into dreamland. Except for Hyungwon.

“Hyungwon?” he asked, his voice cracking from still being half-asleep. But there was no answer. It was weird for Hyungwon not to be asleep right next to him. Wonho had gotten so used to the other’s steady breathing next to his face that by now he had a hard time falling asleep or stay asleep whenever the other was not there. 

Hyungwon on the other side was a heavy sleeper. No matter if the lights were turned on or off, if the door of the bedroom was closed or open, or even when Wonho was still strolling around the house or working out in the living room late at night, when Hyungwon was going to bed early – nothing would wake the other. Wonho knew that he himself was moving a lot when he was sleeping, turning left and right, arms and legs kicking. The only way to avoid that was to hold Hyungwon in his embrace. Maybe Hyungwon’s unmoving, statue like body in his arms and the steady sound of his breath and heartbeat helped Wonho relax in his own sleep, as well.

Wonho changed himself into a sitting position. The bed on Hyungwon’s side of the mattress was still warm, so the other couldn’t have been gone for long. Maybe he’s just in the bathroom, Wonho thought but decided to stand up and look for the other anyways. The red neon numbers on his alarm told him that it was way too early to stand up and that he should just go back to sleep and wait for Hyungwon to return, but there was an uneasy feeling inside his chest.

When he opened the door of his bedroom, he was welcomed by a dark living room. It was quiet. He couldn’t hear any noises, neither coming from the bathroom nor from some anywhere else in his small apartment.

“Hyungwon?” he asked again, his voice in a whisper, but echoing through the silence nevertheless. He slowly made his way into the living room and was about to turn on the lights, when he noticed the taller male sitting on the sofa, his knees pulled up to his chest and his eyes staring into somewhere far away outside of the window taking the other’s thoughts with them. Wonho decided to leave the lights off.

Carefully to not scare the other, Wonho approached the sofa and sat down. Not too close, but close enough so that Hyungwon’s toes were touching his thighs. It was only after Wonho placed his hand on one of Hyungwon’s naked knees that the other was brought back to reality. His breath hitched surprised and he blinked a few times, as if he had just woken up from an unplanned nap, before he turned to look at Wonho with wide eyes.

“Hey.” Wonho greeted with a soft smile on his lips. Hyungwon’s hair was all messy around his head and his confused expression was adding a lot to the cuteness in front of Wonho’s eyes.

“Hey.” Hyungwon returned with his voice sleepy and calm and with his whole focus finally being back to reality. “Did I wake you up?” he asked worried and scratched his head apologetic.

“The bed was empty.” It technically was no answer to Hyungwon’s question, but the other understood the meaning behind those words anyways. “What kept you awake?” Wonho decided to ask in return. He shifted on the sofa so that his back was resting against the armrest and held his arms open. Hyungwon didn’t hesitate even a second to crawl from his previous position into Wonho’s arms, resting his head against the muscular, yet soft chest.

“I thought that I was getting better at this, but this last case…” Hyungwon didn’t needed to finish his sentence for Wonho to understand. It had been quite a while now since he and then Hyungwon had joined the Team and Wonho would have lied if he said that Hyungwon hadn’t adapted to his new tasks and the new, dark and brutal environment he was now dealing with daily faster than he had expected. Maybe faster than he did himself. 

Most cases they had to solve were bearable.

Because at the end of the day they would always save the victim or would catch the criminal no matter how hard or tricky the case had been.

But then, there were also those other cases. Days, when in the end no one could be saved no matter how hard they tried.

For their last case they had managed to catch the culprit - a rapist and pedophile. But not until he had already destroyed the lives of countless innocent children as no one had seen the connection between the cases and many victims hadn’t reported their case to the police or the children to their parents. Then the mother of one of his victims had taken law into her own hands and had stabbed the captured man on the way to court, before he could receive his just punishment. Wonho wasn’t sad that the man had been killed. He clearly deserved it. However, of course the woman had been arrested and imprisoned, as self-justice was never an excuse. Her daughter, whom they had found badly hurt when they arrested the culprit, seemed to be getting better until she suddenly died from a cerebral hemorrhage in hospital.

Hyungwon had been by her side when she died. He had been at the hospital to ask her a few more questions about what had happened to her, when it happened. 

“It’s not your fault.” Wonho said, mindlessly stroking the other’s arm. He knew that Hyungwon didn’t blame himself as it was no one’s but that rapist’s fault. However saying those words felt like the right thing to do in this moment. A loud sigh left Hyungwon’s lips and he pressed his cheeks a little harder against Wonho. He could hear the loud and steady heartbeat where his ear was pressed against the other’s chest.

“I just hate days like this.” Wonho didn’t answer as there was nothing to say. Days like this were the worst, for everyone. He knew that because of Hyungwon’s nature, the other was re-thinking and analyzing the events of the past few days more than anyone else. His mind couldn’t stop working about what if’s and things he should have done differently and while Wonho was happy when he could focus on and finish one thought, he knew that Hyungwon had ten or maybe twenty different strings of thoughts all running through his head at the same time.

His hand wandered from Hyungwon’s arm to his head and he started to stroke his fingers through the soft brown, softly massaging the other’s scalp. Hyungwon’s hair had gotten quiet long and was surprisingly curly – something he would have never imagined when first meeting Hyungwon who had his straight bangs just long enough to fall into his forehead a little back then. But he didn’t hated it. In fact, he loved and envied how Hyungwon could try every hairstyle and every fashion trend he wanted, because everything looked good on him. He knew he was a little biased, but it was just a fact.

They simply sat in the living room in silence for a while, before Wonho started to feel Hyungwon’s body sink against his own even more as the younger was falling back to sleep. He knew that it was cruel to have to wake the other up again, but if they both would fall asleep in a position like this, they would have horrible back-pain the next day.

“Hyungwon” Wonho tried carefully, lowering his head so that he could place a kiss at the soft hair. “Babe, let’s move back to bed. It’s more comfortable there.” An undefinable, but obviously annoyed sound left Hyungwon’s lips. Wonho couldn’t suppress a smile at his boyfriend’s childish behavior. 

“Want me to carry you?” he asked. He could feel Hyungwon’s head rubbing against his chest in a nod. Hyungwon loved to be pampered. This was something they both had realized really early into their relationship. The on the outside often shy and a little cold-hearted appearing genius loved to be showered with affection and attention, loved to cuddle and was secretly looking forward to all the sweet and cheesy gestures and compliments Wonho was more than willing to offer. 

Wonho struggled a little, trying to free his body from Hyungwon’s embrace as the younger wasn’t helping at all, but quickly caught the other in a strong embrace and lifted his long, but light-weighted body of the sofa without great difficulty. Hyungwon wrapped his arms around Wonho’s neck. Not to keep himself from falling down, as he knew that one of the safest places in this whole world were Wonho’s strong arms but to hide his face at the junction where head and shoulders were connected, leaving butterfly kisses wherever his lips could reach.

When his back hit the soft fabric of the mattress Hyungwon refused to unwrap his arms from around Wonho’s neck, keeping the other close. Half hovering over Hyungwon and supporting his body with his arms to not crush Hyungwon under his weight Wonho raised an eyebrow at his boyfriend’s sudden mischievous grin.

“What?” he asked a little unsure.

However, Hyungwon didn’t answer. He simply opened his tight grip around the other’s neck a little, only for him to grab Wonho’s nape with his hands and pull him down to his level for a kiss. First, the kiss was slow. A combination of smaller ones, free from burden and expectations. Just slow tasting and caressing but when Wonho felt himself getting pulled even closer into Hyungwon and a tongue brushing against his lips asking for permission to enter he knew that Hyungwon had different ideas. The younger bend one of his naked legs so that with would brush against the skin of Wonho’s naked hips. 

To be fair, a part of Wonho just wanted to give in to the other. 

The colorful plastic wraps on the small nightstand next to the bed were already prove enough of the kind of naughty activities they had done during their first day-off in a long time and Wonho would be the first one to admit that he just couldn’t enough of Hyungwon; his long legs, his silky skin and oh those lips. Like flipping a switch – once they had decided to take their relationship to the next step and crossed the line of simply making out end exploring each other’s body to real sex, there was no way back. Wonho had tasted the forbidden fruit and got himself addicted. 

However, they had done three stressful cases right after another without a single break, with the last one ending in a series of tragic events, tiring Hyungwon’s and his mind and they already had done it countless times during the past day, tiring their bodies as well. 

Wonho knew that Hyungwon was just trying to avoid falling back asleep in case his mind wouldn’t let him rest again. But the other just had to sleep. 

While Hyungwon’s hands were exploring Wonho’s back and arms, tailing along the outlines of the defined muscles, as if he was doing it for the very first time, Wonho let his mouth wander away from Hyungwon’s lips. He let his mouth run down the chin, along the jawline and nibbled Hyungwon’s pierced earlobe for a moment before speaking.

“As much as I like what you’re doing” he started and placed a kiss on the auricle, before he continued, “you need to sleep, Hyungwon.” Hyungwon’s hands automatically stopped, and for a second Wonho regretted his voice even though he knew that he was doing the right thing. When he lifted his head to look at Hyungwon he could see a huge pout on the plump lips and puppy eyes looking at him, being playfully hurt from the rejection.

“You’re no fun.” He complained and finally let go of Wonho so that he could climb over Hyungwon‘s body to his side of the bed. Wonho was quick to position himself comfortably, before holding the blanket up, signalizing Hyungwon to crawl closer to him. And just like a few moments ago in the living room, Hyungwon didn’t hesitate a second and quickly wiggled into the strong embrace, playing the little spoon, pressing his back against Wonho’s body. Wonho made sure to tug them both in warmly, before placing a kiss at Hyungwon’s nape.

“Don’t stress yourself so much.” Wonho whispered against the skin under his lips. He knew that Hyungwon wasn’t doing it on purpose but he hoped that his words would help the other a little. “Don’t think of anything else when you’re with me. Only focus on me.” He could hear a soft chuckle leaving Hyungwon’s lips and could feel a hand grabbing his under the blankets.

Wonho had been right. The other was so tired, that when he answered his voice was barely more than a soft breathing, already falling deeper and deeper into dreamland. “You’re always on my mind.”

-

The young woman was standing outside the club she had just left, looking through her silver colored purse to see if she had a lighter for the cigarette hanging loosely between her red lips. Her friend had gone back inside to look for the others of their group as they’ve wanted to head to another club, but none of them had come out.

„Hey there, you got a light?” She asked, when she approached the man smoking a cigarette closely to her, leaning against a parked car. As she got closer, she could see the outlines of his handsome features under the colorful light of the club’s neon-light nametag. She tilted her head, revealing more of the long neck and flashed him a toothless smile.

This was the last time she had been seen alive.

-

“The theory of variation.” Minhyuk turned to look at the university students listening to his lecture. “Time to prove who did the reading. Lee Jihye” he called out after looking through the kids, who had raised their arms. The linguistic department head of the university had asked Minhyuk to hold a graduation course as part-time professor this semester and after some consideration, Minhyuk had agreed. It was a little stressful fitting the lecturing and preparations for the classes between the works he already had, but he liked it.

“It focuses on the universal properties common to a given language.” The girl answered a little unsure, as she hadn’t raised her hand.

“You’re quoting the text. Give me an example.” Teaching those kids about the depth of human language might not be as exciting and thrilling as hunting serial killers but Minhyuk enjoyed sharing his knowledge of a field he had always generously been interested and confident in. And seeing that nearly all seats in the lecture hall were taken was motivating him even more.

“French. Spoken worldwide but the same phrase in Paris might have a complete different inference in Montréal.” She continued.

“That’s right. This theory looks at the cultural stages a particular language undergoes in order to understand its evolution. Who can tell me first stage? Kim Yohan” he called out again.

“Pidgin.” The called boy answered without hesitation.

“Pidgin is correct, Mr. Kim.” Minhyuk praised, while writing the word on the white-board. “This is when non-native speaker uses phrases from the mainstream language in broken manner, often resulting in an overly literal translation of the meaning.”

His phone suddenly buzzed and the message “Avengers assemble” appeared on his screen. All in capital letters. A message like this from Changkyun meant that there had to be a new case, moreover an urgent one.

“I thought cellphones weren’t allowed in class, Dr. Lee.” The same boy as before asked with a sneaky grin on his face. He was one of those popular sports kids, playing baseball in a professional youth league. But for his own luck, he was taking studying more or less serious and was quick to understand the material or else Minhyuk might already have knocked some sense into his brain for his countless, incite comments. The class laughed at the remark.

“It would appear that I’m a variation to my own rule.” He answered back with a calm smile instead, while starting to pack his belongings.

“Jung Yeonwoo” he said, looking at his doctoral student with an apologetic smile, an unspoken request for him to continue his lecture. The poor guy had done quite a lot of Minhyuk’s lecturing and class preparations as he had been pretty busy with cases lately, but the other didn’t seemed to mind as long as Minhyuk kept telling him stories about the cases afterwards. 

“Last night Choi Yuna went missing from a friend’s bachelorette party in Itaewon.” Changkyun said, once the whole team had arrived in their meeting room at the office. Most of them not generously happy about the fact that their free time had ended sooner than they had hoped. The photo of the missing woman could be seen on the screen, next to another two. 

Before everyone had enjoyed teasing Wonho and Hyungwon, whenever they would arrive at work together after obviously having spent the night together. Especially after one day both of them had rushed into the office after an emergency announcement from Changkyun, not noticing the huge, deep red hickey on Hyungwon‘s neck and their bruised lips. The teasing of their teammates that morning and the following days had been worse to handle than the case.

But it soon had become boring to the other‘s as them arriving to work together happened nearly daily now and Wonho made extra sure to not leave hickeys at any places on Hyungwon‘s body that could get exposed to others than himself. Despite the fact that they didn’t officially moved in together in either one of their apartments yet, they slept in each other’s beds more often than separated by now. It was not as if they hadn’t talked about moving in together before, but they both knew that they didn’t needed to rush anything and were both fine with how the situation was now.  
As long as he could have Hyungwon in his arms while falling asleep Wonho didn‘t minded if they were at his place or Hyungwon‘s place or wherever. 

“The police in Jong-gu say that she is the third in a series of abductions in a week.” Shownu added.

“Right.” Changkyun confirmed. “The first victim, Jung Hoseok, he was a student at Yonsei University. He disappeared from a fraternity party.” Changkyun added the pictures of the first crime scene on the screens. The man’s head had been wrecked badly, leaving a huge puddle of blood under his lifeless body. “He was discovered at the visitor parking lot just after sunrise. He had been beaten with a blunt object.”

“And then, Hwang Eunbi,” Changkyun continued. “She was a veterinarian living in Shinsang-dong near Yaksu station. She disappeared from a speed-dating function thing, and she was found in a nearby alley the next morning. She had been stripped, and she had been stabbed.” He finished. He quickly turned his face away from the pictures on the screens. One of the perks of his work was that he didn’t had to go and see all those dead people for real - he hated blood.

“Each of the victims was at a social gathering the night that they were abducted.” Shownu said as he looked through the files, which the police had already sent them. “Witness reports say that they were there one minute and gone the next.”

“Ok, so this guy doesn’t waste any time.” Wonho started to analyze the unsub‘s characteristics through the information they had. “He knows who he wants and how to get them. That shows organization and sophistication.”

“He had Jung Hoseok and Hwang Eunbi for less than 12 hours before he killed them. We may already be out of time to save Choi Yuna.” Jooheon concluded the brutal reality. They might already be hunting for the next corpse.

“No apparent link in victimology.” Shownu then continued to distract everyone from their dark thoughts. “What troubles me is the variation in the MO.”

“The speed and efficiency of the abduction suggests just one unsub. So, is he using weapons of opportunity or specifically catering his murder ritual to each victim?” Hyungwon asked. While everyone else was still looking through the files he had already finished reading them long ago.

“There is clear evidence of overkill on both.” Kihyun then added, once he had reached the files with the photos of the victims and crime scenes attached. “Jung Hoseok’s face was caved in, and the damage to Hwang Eunbi’s genitals was extensive.”

“He’s angry, but about what?” Minhyuk’s question kept lingering in the room. This was the question they had to solve in order to stop him.

“Well,… the motive on Hwang Eunbi appears sexual, she was stripped down to nothing more than a watch, while Jung Hoseok was left fully clothed.” Kihyun tried as the read through their autopsy results.

“His wallet was missing.” Wonho added. “There might be some kind of financial motivation.”

“Or it’s plain old-fashioned jealousy.” Jooheon said, after heaving listened to their whole conversation quietly. “He kills Jung Hoseok in a rage and the beast is unleashed. That’s when he starts targeting women.”

“His area of control appears to be quite large. What’s interesting is he dumps the bodies in the same district they’re abducted from.” Hyungwon added a new string of thoughts to their discussion.

“So he doesn’t go fast, yet he’d need privacy. Maybe he uses his vehicle for the assaults.”

“Which means he could be anywhere.” Minhyuk’s comment was brutally true. If the abductor only needed his car for him to proceed with the crimes then he could appear anywhere in Seoul or even the whole country next. 

Jooheon and Wonho left the Jong-gu district main police station as soon as they had arrived, once updated that Choi Yuna’s body had been found a few moments ago.

“Detective Han, Special Agent Lee Jooheon and Special Agent Lee Hoseok” Jooheon introduced them both to the detective in charge when they arrived at the crime scene.

“Appreciate the help. Never seen anything like this before, even here.” The middle-aged man said, he sounded exhausted and his face was pale.

“Consider yourself fortunate.” Jooheon sighed. Itaewon was known for being the troublesome part of the town, with many bars and clubs and a huge foreign community, living and working around this area. In comparison, Itaewon had more major and minor crimes than any other part of Seoul, but Jong-gu district itself, where Itaewon was located in, was actually quite calm and rural in comparison to the rest of Seoul. “Was she stabbed? It’s a lot of blood. It looks like Choi Yuna was still bleeding out when the unsub dumped her here. He was probably with her the whole night.”

“A large truck or an SUV would go unnoticed in these parts of the city.” Wonho said as he looked around. While Koreans normally tended to ride luxurious limousines like BMW or Mercedes, American Jeeps and cars were quite common in this area as US American community here was the biggest one. “Gives him room to work.”

“A bachelorette party and a speed-dating function.” He added after thinking for a while, while Jooheon was still inspecting the place the woman’s corpse had been found. “Both female victims were in situations that would have drawn the attention of the men around them.”

“So maybe the unsub was on the prowl. The women could have enraged him by rejecting his advances.”

“They didn’t reject him right away, though. He was able to lure both into isolation which tells me he’s got game.” Wonho slightly disagreed with Jooheon’s words.

“What about Jung Hoseok?” The detective asked. “He disappeared from a frat party.”

“Jung Hoseok was the first victim.” Wonho explained to him. “And the unsub’s use of a blunt object rather than a knife suggests that the kill was impulsive. It’s probable that Jung Hoseok and the unsub are connected somehow.” Seeing the differences between how those people had been murdered Wonho was pretty sure of his words.

“You should take a closer look at his classmates and professors.” Jooheon suggested to the police officer. Wonho patted the detective’s shoulder in an encouraging manner after the other had just nodded. The poor man’s face was still white like calk from the image he had to witness at the crime scene. 

“What’s up?” Shownu asked in a quiet voice. He was thankful that Minhyuk had interrupted his talk with the victim’s friend. Those talks were always hard and not exactly one of his talents but they had to be done, as they needed as much information as they could get. 

“Choi Yuna’s crime scene photos just came in. Take a look.” Minhyuk handed him a bunch of printed photos.

“He took off everything but the watch, just like with Hwang Eunbi.” Shownu realized as soon as his eyes landed on the photos. Minhyuk nodded agreeing.

“No clothes, no earrings, not so much as a hair tie left.” He then reached for a picture Shownu hadn’t taken a look at yet. “But he leaves a watch.”

“It’s a compulsion. It could be his signature.”

“Miss Park,” Shownu said as he returned to the meeting room, where Choi Yuna’s friend was waiting, crying silently. “Do you happen to remember if Choi Yuna was wearing this watch last night?” The bride-to-be shook her head as she looked at the picture of the watch.

“I don’t think so. I don’t know.” She said in between tears. It was normal for people under shock or huge sorrow to not be able to think clear.

“Do you happen to have any pictures on your phone I could take a look at?” he carefully asked.  
“Yeah, we took a couple.” She started to look for her phone in her handbag. “Here you go.”

“Thank you.” Shownu slid through the pictures the friends had taken yesterday night. On each picture, Choi Yuna was shown he zoomed closer to her arms and wrists. No watch.

“I counted 40 stabs wounds of various depths of penetration.” The coroner updated Hyungwon and Kihyun as they were all looking down on the dead body of Choi Yuna. After his first visit to the coroner, Hyungwon had needed a few days to get the pictures of the dead out of his head. No, actually, they hadn’t left and he knew that they never would. However, what had helped him to turn those shocking images into something he could live with was reading a good amount of books about the anatomy of the human body, autopsy rituals in different countries and cultures and specialist lectures for forensic medicine.

He wanted to use those imagines and connect them with his knowledge to be able to help his team better and to catch those monsters faster.

“He’s targeting her femininity.” Kihyun stated with disgust in his voice after taking a look at Choi Yuna’s body, as he let the white sheet covering her body sink again after. “This type of angers stems from a deep-seated hatred of women.” 

“Or a woman.” Hyungwon added.

“So you think they’re surrogates for someone who emasculated him?” The older asked.

“The time and effort it takes to stab someone 40 times takes determination, the sort indicative of someone affected by a past trauma.” Hyungwon explained his thoughts. People often underestimated the fact that killing someone – especially stabbing – was physically tiring.

“Well, if his work here is any indication, he’s unraveling quickly. We should take a look at Jung Hoseok. He triggered the unsub’s violence.” 

“He certainly put up the biggest fight.” The coroner said and moved from the table Choi Yuna had been placed on to his working desk. “Here. Let me show you.” He projected pictures from Jung Hoseok’s autopsy from his own screen to the one on the wall so that Hyungwon and Kihyun could look at them as well.

The man’s skin was covered by deep red, blue and purple bruises all over. His face hardly being recognizable and it could only be guessed what a handsome man he once must have been.

“Jung Hoseok was harder to control.” Hyungwon said and his eyes wandered from one picture to the next, trying to take in very detail so that he wouldn’t miss anything.

“How did he get the bruising on his chest and back?” Kihyun asked. “He was fully clothed when he was found.” He showed Hyungwon a picture on his phone taken at the place where Jung Hoseok had been found. “There’s no tears in his shirt.”

“He must not have been wearing it when he was attacked.” Hyungwon tried, as it was the only plausible explanation for this phenomenon.

“The unsub dressed him postmortem. He’s showing remorse.” Kihyun concluded from Hyungwon’s words.

“Jung Hoseok was closer to his attacker than we thought.”

“How long have you and Jung Hoseok been roommates?” Minhyuk asked Kim Taehyung sitting nervously on his bed in the University dorm room he had shared with the victim. The young man was fiddling with his hands nervously, but his face showed nothing but sadness from the loss of his friend.

“Since the first semester.” He answered with a quiet voice, while observing Minhyuk as he looked through Jung Hoseok’s belongings.

“You two seem very close.” Minhyuk stated after his eyes had landed on a picture of the roommates.  
“He was like my brother.” 

“That’s rare.” Minhyuk said. There were quite a few pictures of them together being places all over the room. Sometimes with other people, sometimes just the two of them. There was something bothering him, but he couldn’t pin-point it yet. “My first semester roommate and I didn’t get along. At all.” He turned to face the young man.

“You told the police you went to the game the night Jung Hoseok disappeared? What happened after that?” he asked calmly and walked to the other side of the room.

“Came back to the campus. Hit a couple of frat parties.” The young man answered.

“Which ones?” Kim Taehyung stuttered a little, as if he was looking for the right words before he spoke. 

“I don’t really remember. I was drunk.” Minhyuk nodded, not buying what the young man was telling him. It was obvious that he was lying. His eyes wandered over Jung Hoseok’s bed, were boxes with his packed stuff had been placed on.

“This must be tough having to pack up all his things on your own.” He turned to face Kim Taehyung again. “Didn’t his family want to help?”

“We’ve been living together for a long time. I told them I’d sort through what was his and what was mine.” The other explained and Minhyuk could see that he was uncomfortable with the question.

“Yeah. That reminds me of another roommate I had in grad school.” Minhyuk wanted answers and he knew exactly how to get them. “He used to make me promise him that if something ever happened to him, I’d get rid of anything his parents shouldn’t see.” From the look on Kim Taehyung’s face Minhyuk knew that he had hit bullseye. “What didn’t Jung Hoseok want his parents to see, Taehyung?” The boy hesitated. His lips were moving as if the words wanted to crawl out of his lips, but something was definitely holding them back.

“Was it this?” Minhyuk asked calmly, lifting the picture, he had picked up from one of the shelves, so that it was right in front of Taehyung’s eyes. A miserable expression appeared on his face as he slowly reached for the picture. It was showing him and his roommate. A third young man sitting between them. All three of them smiling brightly into the camera, while Jung Hoseok and the boy in the middle were holding hands.

“You’re gonna want to put that with the other things.” Minhyuk stated.

“Please, you can’t tell them.” Taehyung pleaded, nearly crying, trying to protect his friend.

“I’ve scoured the victims’ social feeds, and I can confirm that Choi Yuna is the only one who turned up wearing a watch that didn’t belong to her.” Changkyun said his face big and clear on a screen in the meeting room of the Jung-gu district main police station.

“Well, she’s also the only one not wearing a watch when abducted.” Wonho stated. “Time is somehow important to this unsub.” He, Hyungwon and Kihyun had met up in a meeting room to discuss their process after the other two had returned from the coroner. It was already pretty late and in front of each of them stood a cup of strong coffee to keep them awake.

“But not the right time.” Hyungwon took a sip of his drink, leaving a sweet vanilla smell in the room. His coffee always had to be sweetened. “None of the watches were accurate. That has to mean something.” 

“It’s a message, but for whom?” Kihyun asked. He had his head rested on one of his arms. His mind was tired, but he couldn’t call it a day yet. “The watch he put on Choi Yuna was broken. Could that be a way of saying that her time was up?”

“Maybe they were taunts, telling us that we’re out of time.”

“Could it be like time of death?” Changkyun suddenly asked after having listened to his teammates for a while. “You know, like only the unsub understands it notification kind of thing?”

“You know, Changkyun might be right.” Wonho could see the brain cells working behind Hyungwon’s tired but bright eyes.

“It happens.” Changkyun grinned sarcastically.

“Not about the notification. The times don’t add up. But what if it’s a warning?” Hyungwon continued this thought. “Was if he’s setting the watches to the time of the next abduction?” Wonho reached for the evidence on the table in front of him, safely wrapped in a plastic bag so that no traces could be blurred. It was the watch the unsub had had left with his latest victim.

“6:22” he read the time on the dial aloud. Then he turned to look at the clock hanging on the wall. It was 6:45 pm.

“I really hope you’re wrong, Hyungwon.” Kihyun said when his glaze also landed on the clock. If Hyungwon was right, then a new victim had already fallen into the abductors trap. Hyungwon nodded. He wished he were wrong as well.

-

„Come on, don’t tell me you’ve reached the shot stage already?“ The young man said as soon as he reached the table where his two friends, a man and a woman of the same age, were trying to recover from the burning taste of the heavy liquid.

„You’re late, where have you been?“ the man asked.

„And you brought a stray. Who’s your friend, Jimin?“ the woman added smirking.

„This is Jungkook.“ Park Jimin introduced the other newcomer he had brought along. „He just transferred in from Jeonju Office, and he is in desperate need of friends and beverages.“

„And not necessarily in that order.“ Jeon Jungkook said jokingly and with a shy smile on his lips.

„You came to the right place. Sit down. Have a drink.” 

After sitting down and ordering a new round of drinks the newcomer in the circle of friends reached into his pocket and pulled out a package of cigarettes.

„You mind?“ he asked.

„Not if you share.“


	2. Elsker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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“Choi Yuna was a smoker. The unsub could have seen her standing by her own, he could have asked to bum a cigarette or offered her a light.” Jooheon said when they were entering the Jung-gu main police station the next morning before sunrise. They only had slept a few hours, just long enough for them to keep a clear and focused mind. Each hour that passed was critical but they weren't helping anyone if they were too tired to focus on their work at hand.

“Yeah. But according to the ME’s report, neither Hwang Eunbi nor Jung Hoseok were smokers.” Shownu replied. He and Jooheon were both holding an iced Americano with triple shot espresso in their hands. They would definitely need the extra caffeine to survive the day. 

“They don’t necessarily need to be. The guy’s socially proficient. He can adapt his ruse to whomever he targets.” the younger then added to his original thought.

“Does that include his sexual orientation?” Minhyuk asked as soon as he joined the other two. He had arrived in the police station even earlier. After confirming his theory, he just couldn’t sit around in his hotel room and do nothing. “Jung Hoseok was at a gay bar the night he went missing.”

“That fits with the other abductions. But why would the roommate lie?” Shownu asked even though the reasons were obvious and always the same. 

“Jung Hoseok hadn’t come out to his parents. Kim Taehyung was trying to protect his friend’s secret.” Minhyuk explained the others reasoning nevertheless.

“Or intentionally obstructing the investigation.” Detective Han who had joined them as well said. The poor man had recovered from his shock about the bloody crime scene of the past day and was back to working.

“No, I don’t think so.” Minhyuk shook his head slightly. He believed in Kim Taehyung’s motivation and knew that the boy’s sorrow and sadness about the loss of his dear friend were real. “Because of the physical brutality he suffered, Kim Taehyung assumed Jung Hoseok was the victim of a hate crime and didn’t want his death becoming a media spectacle.”

“So we’re back to square one.” A deep sigh left Detective Han’s lips loudly. It was clear that he had wanted Kim Taehyung to be the culprit, so that they could close the case as fast as possible.

“Not necessarily.” Shownu answered. “Jung Hoseok was the only victim that the unsub felt remorse for. Their connection could have been an intimate one.” Minhyuk nodded.

-

„You know, I gotta say, that was one hell of a welcome to Seoul.“ Jeon Jungkook said amused, while leaving the narrow shower, drying his body with a small towel. „I guess we got a little carried away.”

When he received no answer, he walked back to the main room of the small apartment the other lived in after wearing his clothes. The other had his back turned towards him, lifting one of the nightstand lights, which had fallen to the floor due to their nightly activities.

„Need some help?“ he asked but there was no answer again. „Hyung, you all right?“

„We shouldn’t have done that.” The whisper was barely hearable but full of regrets.

„I thought you were into it?” he asked confused. No one who wasn’t into it would have done what they did and no one was able to fake such emotions.

„I wasn’t, I... I was. I think you should go.” The other answered back, stumbling over his own words and thoughts. The inner conflict of the other was quite visible on his face.

„No, not until you talk to me.“ Jeon Jungkook slowly and carefully guided the older to sit on the bed, sitting down next to him. Closely, but making sure to keep a little distance between them. „What is going to your head right now?” he asked.

„Guys are not... Guys are supposed to be with girls.” This was an answer he had hoped not to hear but expected it to come anyways.

„Man. Someone really did a number on you, didn’t they?” He sighed when he realized what was going on. „Parent or pastor?“ he carefully asked. It was always either one.

„How do you do this? I mean, how are you okay with this?” Instead of an answer, Jeon Jungkook received another question after a short but heavy silence.

„I wasn’t. Not for a real long time.” He truthfully answered and sighed again before he continued. „But there comes a point when you just gotta ask yourself how much longer are you willing to pretend to be someone that you aren’t.“

„Who says I’m pretending? Who says I’m...“ Jeon Jungkook snorted at the others denial.

„This room, for one.” he answered with a small grin as his glaze wandered to the sofa they had made out on, the bed they had sex in. They had been wild.

„Yeah.“ The other joined in, but his smile didn‘t last for long and he couldn’t suppress a tear rolling down his cheeks. „Yeah, it is a mess. Yeah it’s...“ he didn’t finish the sentence, but suddenly his voice had a much more sincere tone to it as he continued. „I don’t know what I’m doing.”

„Then I guess it’s a good thing you met me, then.” Jeon Jungkook said, his voice nothing more than a whisper. He really had taken a liking to the other or maybe it was because he could see himself in the other’s lumped figure. He placed his soothing hands on the others back.

„I’m a great teacher.” He said. 

And that was Jeon Jungkook’s only mistake.

-

„There had been another victim?“ Hyungwon asked as soon as he entered the main meeting room. They were using this room to gather and sort all their evidences and crime scene pictures. Wonho was just about to attach the last picture of their latest victim to the wall when Hyungwon entered.

It was still really early in the morning and when Wonho had woken up with a peacefully sleeping Hyungwon in between his arms on that narrow bed in this small hotel room they were staying in for as long as the case lasted, he couldn‘t bring himself to wake the other. Hyungwon had returned back to the hotel room at around two in the morning and Wonho wanted to let him sleep for as long as he could. He even secretly changed his boyfriend‘s alarm and set it for an hour later than planned by the other.   
The younger‘s hair was still a little messy and instead of wearing a button up shirt he wore a simple brown turtle neck today. He must have rushed over here when he noticed the time, Wonho thought and couldn‘t hide a smile as he noticed that one of Hyungwon‘s bangs was curling upwards into the air. Luckily for him, Hyungwon didn‘t commented on his little trick. At least not for now.

„Jeon Jungkook, an accountant from Jeonju. Jooheon and Shownu-hyung are still at the crime scene.“ He updated his boyfriend, so that the other didn’t had to read the files even though reading them was taking no effort for Hyungwon. „Body was dumped near a park.”

„Was he wearing a watch?“ Wonho handed him the printed pictures of the watch, which had been found with the newest victim. Hyungwon’s eyes didn’t even lasted on the picture for a second before he noticed something that caught his attention.

„6:59. Was the watch still working?” he asked curiously.

„If you mean by working still ticking, yeah.” Wonho answered. „But it was at least two and a half hours off, though.”

„Now that we have a few working watched, though, we might be able to see a pattern in how or why the unsub changes the times.” Whenever Hyungwon was excited or his brain was working hard behind the pretty face he unconsciously started to speak really fast. However, Wonho had learned to catch up with the others speed by now. Hectically Hyungwon searched for a pen and a piece of paper before starting to scribble down what was going on in his head.

Wonho just watched him fascinated and let him do his magic.

„Six...” Hyungwon murmured while Wonho could see him writing down ‘(6:20)-2M’ on the paper. „What time was the body discovered?” he suddenly asked.

„About an hour ago, maybe. Why?” Wonho asked a little lost. Why was the time of discovery important?

„You know the exact time?” A guess was not good enough for Hyungwon. Wonho sighed and quickly started to look through some of the files on the table. He had the paper between his fingers just a moment ago, but couldn’t remember where he had placed it. 

„A jogger called in at 8:04. He was running laps, so the body couldn’t have been laying there more than a few minutes.“ Wonho read out loud when he finally found the paper and observed how Hyungwon started to scribble down something else on a new piece of paper. First ‘(6:28)-6M’ then ‘(6:19)-3M’. Wonho raised his eyebrow when Hyungwon wrote ‘(6:22) O’ on the last piece of paper. 

If he wouldn’t have been so clueless about what Hyungwon was doing and what dots the others genius brain was connecting, Wonho maybe would have found the time to swoon over his boyfriend mindlessly brushing a few bangs of his long, messy hair behind his ears, before they would fall back into his face. Or the way his long eyelashes framed the other’s focused eyes perfectly. Why was the other so effortlessly handsome? Even in random situations like this.

„I think I know what the messages say.“ Hyungwon suddenly exclaimed loudly, his face glowing from excitement.

„Babe, spit it out already.” Watching Hyungwon do his magic was satisfying and unbelievable attractive - at least to Wonho - but also frustrating as hell. He wanted to know and to understand what was going on and what kind of connection he hadn’t been able to see.

„6:22“ Hyungwon said, while looking at the five different papers with the notes he had written as if Wonho had to understand what that was supposed to mean.

„Okay, are you talking about Hwang Eunbi’s watch or Jung Hoseok’s watch?” he carefully asked.

„I’m talking about all the watches.” Hyungwon answered with his voice fast. „If you take the time the bodies were discovered, subtract the variance the corresponding watched are off by, you land within plus or minus six minutes of 6:22 every single time.“ Wonho just looked at Hyungwon with wide and confused eyes, but Hyungwon wasn’t finished yet.

„Which, taking into consideration the time between dump and discovery and all the public areas and the fact that the only broken watch was already stuck at 6:22 it’s reasonable to deduce the unsub sets the watches to the exact same time just before the disposing of the bodies.“ he continued to explain what he had discovered.

Wonho didn‘t knew why, but suddenly everything Hyungwon said started to made sense. Listening to Hyungwon explanation, he started to understand the connection and the parallels between the watches and the reason why the times had been off the way they were.

„So stupid. It was literally staring me in the face the whole time.” Hyungwon suddenly exclaimed frustrated, turning Wonho’s attention who had tried to follow Hyungwon’s explanation while looking at the evidences back to Hyungwon. „I don’t know how I missed it.”

„Come one, Hyungwon, stop.” Wonho quickly said to interfere. „You’re the only person who can realize all of this.” He pointed at the papers with the different numbers. Not in a million years would he have thought about such a possibility by himself and even if he had, he would have most likely taken days or weeks, before he would have figured out the connection. And Hyungwon had done this in under five minutes.

Wonho knew that Hyungwon was frustrated by the fact that he hadn’t realized all this even sooner. Hyungwon‘s pride as a genius wouldn‘t let him accept the fact that there had been something he didn’t understand right from the start. 

They were inside the police station and the percentage of homophobes among police officials was surprisingly high for the fact that they were supposed to have neutrality and objectiveness; nevertheless, Wonho closed the distance between them, as they were alone inside the room. He pulled Hyungwon down to his level by the others neck, placing a kiss on the others forehead. Leaving his lips on the soft skin for just a little longer than necessary. 

„I love this amazing brain of yours.” Wonho said and from the smile on the taller man’s lips and his faintly red covered cheeks, Wonho knew that his mission to distract Hyungwon from his nonsense had been successful.

„We‘re at the police station.” Hyungwon complained while grinning. Wonho knew that the other was trying to remind him of that one time they nearly had been caught kissing by the police chief of Seoul himself before and had promised each other that at least at work they would keep their hands off each other. Wonho simply smiled apologetic. Hyungwon had been sad and frustrated and it was his supreme premise to make sure that Hyungwon was happy.

„So what does 6:22 mean?” Wonho asked, trying to turn both of their attentions back to the case at hand.

„I have no idea.” Hyungwon suddenly sounded a little frustrated again and Wonho wanted to punch himself for asking the wrong question and for ruining his own achievements.

„Babe...“

„All I know is what it says. I don’t know what it means.”

„He used a blunt object again.” Kihyun sighed. He wasn‘t exactly amused to be back to the coroner so soon. He had hoped that they would have more time. The autopsy of the new victim had just finished a few moments before they had arrived. „This kill was just as impulsive as the first.”

„Were there any defensive wounds under his clothes?” Minyhuk who was accompanying Kihyun this time asked.

„No, but you should take a look.” the coroner responded and pointed at the middle part of the victim. Minhyuk and Kihyun looked at each other a little confused, before Minhyuk lifted the white sheet covering the dead body. The sight under the sheets was horrible and no better than any slaughter horror movie. The genitals of the man were completely destroyed.

„He‘s combining the murder rituals.”

„Is he unraveling or evolving his MO?” Minhyuk asked, quickly letting the sheet sink down again. Even to them a sight like this was still hard to bear.

„It could be both.” Kihyun shook his head unbelieving. It would take him weeks to forget the images of this wrecked body. Maybe years. „Did he inflict the stab wounds pre or postmortem?” he asked the coroner after.

„It was all postmortem after the first blow to the back of his head. Killed him instantly.” the coroner explained shortly.

„Was the face next?”

„Actually, no. Based on the blood loss, I‘d say the stabbing was first.” the coroner added the results of his autopsy.

„That doesn‘t add up.” Minhyuk said confused as he turned to face Kihyun. „Why would he switch to a knife, then go back to the blunt object after?”

„He must be attacking the face for a specific reason.” Kihyun tried, but didn‘t knew how to explain this phenomenon yet either.

„It could be a manifestation of his guilt, like the re-dressing.”

„Or of his self-worth. Maybe he didn‘t want the men to see him.” Kihyun’s eyes landed on the covered body again. „His self-esteem would have been at an all-time low.”

„But the only reached the low with the men, not the women.” Minhyuk said, liking what Kihyun was implying. Minhyuk could see the light bulb turning on above Kihyun‘s head not even a second later before the other turned to speak to the coroner again.

„Dr. Woo, did the victim have sex before he died?” he asked.

„I believe so. I found traces of lubricant consistent with that used on latex condoms.” This was the confirmation Kihyun needed. He quickly thanked the coroner before he and Minhyuk left. They needed to update their team and the police station fast.

„We believe we‘re looking for a Korean homosexual male in his mid to late 20s who is suffering an identity crisis.” Shownu‘s voice was loud and even echoed a little in the big room filled by policemen. After Kihyun had updated the rest of the Team about his investigation it finally became clearer what kind of person the unsub was and they had decided to update the police.

„This man can‘t accept his same-sex desires, but can‘t fight against them either.” Kihyun added. The policemen and women looking back at them and listening to their profile didn‘t let it show on their face, but it was most likely that more than half of them were thinking that it was only natural that the criminal was a homosexual man as homosexuality itself was already a crime. „He‘s most likely been repressing all sexual urges for quite some time.”

„The first victim, Jung Hoseok, represents a fall from the wagon, if you will.” Jooheon continued to explain. „The intercourse between the two men was most likely the unsub‘s trigger.”

Wonho could see detective Han‘s expression hardening a little as Jooheon spoke about sex between men. Or maybe it was just his embarrassment about having to talk about sex in general in a public environment. Of course, he was aware of the country‘s conservative mindset and general opinion about homosexuality and he knew that other than himself Hyungwon had already faced hate and racism simply for the fact that he loved who he loved, too. However, Hyungwon had decided to face and repress it with an open mind and a smile and maybe that was the reason why Hyungwon decided to tease the poor police officer a little more.

„Immediately after copulation, the male‘s serotonin levels drop. The high is achieved during sex. That rapid change can manifest itself in extreme depression and low self-esteem.” he explained as if he was talking about the weather.

„Combined with an apparent belief that acting on his attraction towards other men is wrong, this state causes the unsub to lash out violently at those he‘s with.” Minhyuk continued, before Hyungwon could say more.

„As his levels normalize, he begins to feel remorse for what he‘s done and he tries to correct his course.” Jooheon finished.

„This is where Choi Yuna and Hwang Eunbi come in.” It was Wonho’s turn again to explain, why their unsub was killing women as well despite the fact that theunsub was having a moral and internal conflict with his homosexuality. „After killing Jung Hoseok the unsub sought out to women that he was desperate to be attracted to.”

„But he‘s trapped in a scenario with an impossible outcome. He can‘t force himself to like women, so when he‘s unable to get aroused, he becomes depressed again and lashes out in anger to the people he blames for his impotence.” Kihyun continued. The police officers seemed to understand the force that was driving the unsub, no matter if they were supportive of same-sex relationships or not.

„The circular logic dictating his never-ending cycle was not formed overnight.” Hyungwon then continued, sounding a little sad actually, as all behavioral disorders of humanity had a cause. Most of the people never had a realistic chance to not become what they had become due to some influential events in their childhood. „It most likely came about due to years of serious abuse, either emotional, physical, or both.”

-

„We‘re more than friends.” His younger self desperately tried to explain himself.

„What‘s with that bullshit.”

„I like him, Like ‘like’ him.” He confessed.

„The hell you do. Don‘t even think like that, son.”

„But it‘s the truth.”

„Truth?” He still remembered how the other had smoked in an ashtray. Then spit on the floor of the cellar room. „I‘ll show you truth.”

-

„The most popular motive for trying to overcome same-sex attraction is the need to be accepted by the parent or the loved one who has rejected the individual because of their homosexuality.“ Minhyuk started to explain the psychological reasons, while Wonho hardly heard his words and noticed how his own glace wandered away from the police officers in front of them, listening to their profile closely and taking notes now and then, towards Hyungwon.

The other stood a little away from him and Wonho couldn’t see his expression clearly, but he noticed that the younger was a little more tensed than usual. Wonho wanted to walk over and take the other’s hand, because he understood. He, too, didn’t like listening to their analyzation about the unsub’s background as most of the reasons applied perfectly to himself as well. His childhood had been a mess and a nightmare and Wonho was sure that he had taken more than a few damages to his psych from that time and that he would have to carry this burden forever. He, too, could have become monster himself and he didn’t try to think about it too much but he knew he was always on alert trying to see if he was crossing the line or not.

Same applied to Hyungwon. The other’s childhood couldn’t have been any more different from Wonho’s but the other had to grow up facing the hate and discrimination of others as well. 

„So-“ Wonho started when he finally turned his attention back to the people in front of them. Hopefully Minyhuk‘s words were leaving some impact on them, making them realize that their hate and disgust for homosexuality or other minorities and differences was destroying other people‘s lives, breaking them, letting them become the criminal they were now trying to catch. „Focus on men who grew up in a broken home and suffered under the guardianship of a domineering parent, as well as those who fell victim to bigotry or bullying.“

„The bottom line is this unsub will not stop killing.” Shownu said loudly to catch everyone’s attention one more time. „Which each failed attempt to become aroused by women, or to avoid giving in to his same-sex urges, he becomes more and more desperate and more dangerous. Thank you.” With those final words he ended the briefing.


	3. Liebe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TMI for all german Monbebe/Wenees!
> 
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As soon as the door opened, Park Jimin caught his friend in a tight hug.

„Thank god you‘re okay. You haven‘t been answering your phone all day. I was worried.” He said, speaking into the other’s shoulder, dulling his voice a lot.

„What are you talking about?“ the other asked confused. Park Jimin released his friend and grabbed his shoulders, letting their eyes meet. His eyes were serious and yet somehow sad.

„Jungkook was murdered last night.” The words nearly couldn’t make it out of his lips.

„What?”

„Yeah, it must have happened after you dropped him off. He didn‘t show up to work and so I went by his apartment and there were cops everywhere.” It was obvious from the tone in his voice that Park Jimin hadn‘t fully processed what had happened to his coworker yet. Things like this only happened in Hollywood movies so how could his friend be dead?

„What‘d you tell them?”

„Nothing. I came straight here to make sure you were okay.” He turned to look at his friend confused. The other had his arms crossed in front of his chest, leaning against the doorframe of his bedroom.

„I‘m fine.” he said. „Really, promise.”

-

„Getting the 411 on a 622 is not easy.” Changkyun said while his fingers ran wild over the keyboard of his computer. „I am looking up that date, and June 22 has been quite an eventful day in recent history.” The team had asked him to check possible meanings of the number 6:22 all clocks had been set to, and to Changkyun a date seemed like the most plausible answer.

„Sounds like our Maknae got something good.” Wonho said on the other side of the video call, while sitting down at the table Jooheon and Hyungwon were already sitting at. None of them commented on the fact that Wonho scooted his chair unnecessarily close  
to Hyungwon.

„Let‘s see.” Changkyun‘s face on the screen appeared slightly blue from the poor light in his own office and the quality of the video wasn‘t the best, but it would do. „On this date in 1990, Florida in the United States banned the wearing of thong bikinis.” he said with a grin.

„I said ‘good’, Changkyun. That‘s no good news.” Wonho remarked, playing a long also wearing a grin on his lips. 

„Right, right.” Changkyun chuckled for a second before he turned serious again. „Okay. Let‘s see. June 22, 1992, Supreme Court rules Seoul hate crime laws violated free speech. The defendant burned a cross in front of a woman and her african-american husband‘s apartment who lived in his building complex.” Changkyun said with a disgusted look on his face.

„Nothing in the unsub‘s profile suggests racial motivation, though.” Hyungwon noted.

„No, but the cross has me thinking.” Jooheon turned away from the screen to face his other teammates, his forehead in a frown. „Many religions suggest that following through on homosexual desires invites condemnation.” He explained his thoughts and continued. „What if the unsub is struggling with his faith?”

Surprisingly enough South Korea was the only country in the world, which had been taught the Christian religion entirely by Confucian scholars who encountered it in China and then later by French and Chinese Catholic priests. Old religions from Japan and China had been completely overtaken and only a small minority of Buddhism remained. Wonho had spent enough time overseas to know that the Korean Christianity believes, both Protestantism and Catholicism, and practicing religion was completely different from the rest of the world.

Christian holy holidays were less important and not celebrated like in other highly Christian countries. Rather than following the bible’s principles and messages people believed that Jesus was a messiah who would come down to earth one day again and save them. Churches were in most of the cases no impressive, massive god-houses where even atheists like Wonho himself could feel the holiness of the place but rather common areas in a random floor of a random office building.

In addition, Wonho knew too well that the majority of churches in Korea weren't exactly Catholic or Protestant parishes. They were sects. Not as big as those known from the States, but all with a crazy leader and passionate and obsessed followers.

„Changkyun” Jooheon then addressed the other again. „Are there any 6:22 Bible passages that are relevant?” he asked.

„Yeah, I thought of that, but the most popular one is Matthew 6:22, and it has to do with lights and eyes. I don‘t see how that fits.” Changkyun answered a little disappointed.

„All right, let‘s look at this another way.” Wonho then said, but his eyes caught Hyungwon‘s serious and focused face. His boyfriend was thinking hard about something. Maybe for once they had been thinking about the same thing. „What are the passages that specifically relate to homosexuality?”

„That‘s it!” Hyungwon said loudly not even leaving Changkyun time to answer. His brain was faster than Changkyun’s computer anyways. „He‘s not saying 6:22. He‘s saying 18:22. As in Leviticus 18:22. `Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind, for it is an abomination‘.” he quoted the fitting text of the bible from his memory as if he was reading it aloud.

„He converted 18:22” Jooheon rose from his chair and walked up to the board they had pinned all the cases photos and information to. „to 6:22 p.m. Like military time.” he pointed at the pictures of the watches found with the victims.

„Maybe the unsub suffered abuse at the hands of someone citing God‘s will that he should change.” Hyungwon added.

„It wouldn‘t be the first time someone took the good book and twisted it for their own agenda.”

„Okay, but if you wanted to change someone‘s sexual orientation, how could you do it?” Wonho asked.

Wonho had never thought much about his sexual orientation. As a teenager, he had spent most of his puberty in juvenile detention center. Surrounded by other boys just having hit puberty. Sexual actions between boys had happened daily and Wonho had never questioned it. He hadn’t known anything else.

Everyone wanted and needed to explore their own and other bodies, discovering sexuality and sexual desires. Because of his criminal record and everything else that had happened afterwards Wonho had never done his mandatory military service, but he was sure that the young men there weren‘t much different from the boys in juve, same for all boy boarding and high schools.

Moreover, to be fair he didn‘t had much time to think about it either. First juvenile, then he had been on the run from Song Gunhee, then kidnapped and abused by Song Gunhee, after that due to Shownu‘s efforts had trained to become part of the team and had hunted criminals none stop afterwards.

It wasn‘t until he had set his eyes on Hyungwon and had gotten to know him that Wonho learned how dull and lonely his life had been up to this point and what the true meaning behind the word `love‘ was. He had never thought about being in a relationship until he wanted to keep Hyungwon close to his side, forever.

„I mean, you‘re not gonna guilt somebody into that.” Wonho then added. He just couldn’t imagine that there were methods like this which could actually change a person’s sexuality. 

„I‘m seeing some stuff about an ex-gay movement.” Changkyun suddenly interrupted. He had started to dig for information while the others were still webbing their thoughts. As he looked through the documents he had found, he tried to sum it up for the other three. „It looks like some kind of a 12-step program.”

„A 12-step program usually doesn‘t traumatize the participants.” Jooheon didn‘t seem convinced yet.

„But conversion therapy might.” Hyungwon suggested. „Several conversion camps have been shut down recently `cause their methods border on torture.” Wonho remembered having read something like this in the news a few weeks ago, but he was sure that those conversion camps had been for different purposes.

„Yeah, but why would any faith condone the torture of children?” he asked unbelieving. Atheist or not, he didn‘t wanted to believe that any religion had the intention to harm innocent children.

„None of them would. Even a religion that frowns on homosexuality.” Jooheon quickly answered, obviously enraged by the thought of people using the excuse of religion to hurt children. Wonho knew that Jooheon was part of a catholic church community and believed in god but he was smart enough to understand and accept that not everything written in the bible was the absolute truth and that many of the ancient principles didn‘t apply to this modern world anymore. Wonho respected that about the other a lot. 

„None of them would cross that line.”

„Changkyun, are there conversion camps in the area?” Wonho carefully asked, not really wanting to hear the answer. The wild clicking of the keyboard could be heard through the video call as Changkyun was digging through the web of information. It didn’t take him long to find something.

„I got a hit!” he exclaimed loudly, when the website of a fitting conversion camp popped up on his computer screen. The yellow logo with the slogan `It‘s time to change’ was enthroned above everything else. He quickly projected the website on the screen so that the others could take a look at it as well. „Camp Sunshine operates near Seoripul Park in Bangbae-dong. Their motto is, `It‘s time to change’. And guess which biblical passage is on their home page.”

-

When he found Park Jimin the other was kneeling on the floor of his bedroom, right above the red stain in the beige colored carpet he didn‘t manage to wash out completely the night before. The other lifted his head and looked back at him with wide eyes.

„What are you doing here?” he asked coldly.

„I had to use the bathroom.” Park Jimin answered, his voice shaking and rose from the floor. „Is this Jungkook‘s blood?” he asked after a small pause not wanting to believe what his eyes were seeing.

„I wasn‘t my fault.” He shook his head.

„Not your fault. Whose fault was it, Yoongi-hyung?” Park Jimin was suddenly very enraged. This couldn’t be true. His friend would never do something like this, especially not to someone close to himself.

„Theirs.” Was the short answer.

„Theirs?”

„Yeah.”

„How could it be their fault?” Park Jimin was nearly screaming by now, angered by the situation and by the nearly apathetic tone in his friend‘s voice. He knew who his friend was talking about instantly but that didn’t satisfy him at all. It only fueled his anger. 

„They haven‘t laid a hand on you for years.”

„Do you know what they did to me?” the older asked back in a sharp tone, glaring.

„Of course I do. They did the same thing to me, too.” A flashback of those horrible gray colored walls and the cold stone ran through his mind, their sharp and strict voices still ringing in his ears. The loneliness and the fear still present in his bones.

When Min Yoongi reached for the gun he hadn‘t noticed before from a cupboard next to the door Park Jimin suddenly realized what kind of situation he was in. He finally took notice of the deep bangs under the other‘s eyes, the way his hair and clothes were messy, the faint smell of cigarette smoke indicating that the other must have started smoking again mixed with the faint stink of alcohol. How could he have been so blind to not notice all of this?

„I can‘t let you leave yet, Jimin.” Min Yoongi pointed the gun at his friend, suddenly sounding very tired and very serious at the same time. „We have to work some things out first.”

-

Once he and Kihyun arrived, Minhyuk had to admit that the environment around Camp Sunshine was actually quite nice. For an area in the middle of Seoul, there was a lot of nature and fresh air and on a sunny day like today, it seemed like the perfect place for a day trip. However, he knew that the appearances were deceptive. He saw a few young men walking around, all wearing the same kaki or brown colored pants and beige colored polo shirts. The short haircuts and plain clothes made it seem like they had arrived on a military base.

„Our main purpose is to promote positive changes for the conflicted individuals who come here.“ Han Jiwook, one of the camp‘s supervisors who had welcomed Minhyuk and Kihyun, explained. He was a middle-aged man, his hair seemed a little longer than those of the young boys but he wore the same plain clothes.

„There doesn‘t seem to be much room for self-expression.” Minhyuk noticed. Those kids were completely different from the typical Korean teenagers. No cellphones, no fashionable clothes, no accessories, no pama-hair. As a psychologist Minhyuk was against the idea of suppressing the individuality of children and teenagers but his home country had different ideas.

Korean school system was one of the hardest in the world and student‘s had to fit perfectly into a certain image with their matching school uniforms and hairstyles, studying day in and day out in order to hit perfect scores. However, this was different. Because out there no matter how harsh and brutal the Korean school system was in the end those kids were able to hang out with their friends, go shopping, play video games and wear what they wanted to in their free time. At the end of the day, they were all individuals with the sometimes-limited freedom to explore themselves.

Those boys in Camp Sunshine however couldn‘t do any of that.

„We try to keep things as uniform as possible.” the man explained. „We‘re not trying to stifle them. It‘s just that progressive behavior in many ways can unravel their recovery efforts.”

„Such as colors?” Kihyun then added. He had to admit that he wasn‘t the most fashionable person himself, but even he thought that everything just seemed too plain and too depressing for a place keeping watch over a bunch of teenage boys.

„Earth tones like brown or tan are the go-to. Navy blue if the color doesn‘t fade or become too bright.” Han Jiwook continued to explain in a sweet tone.

„Because bright blue would be considered too feminine?” Kihyun‘s tone was sharp and Minhyuk couldn‘t see it but he was sure that Kiyhun‘s hands hidden in the pockets of his black coat were balled to fists.

„Exactly.” The man didn‘t seem to mind.

„And the auto shop aids in conversion how?” Minhyuk then decided to ask, looking at a few young man working on a really old truck a few meters away from them. 

„We‘ve found that immersing the boys in traditional male gender roles stimulates an appreciation of their own masculinity.” Minhyuk and Kihyun just nodded understanding the words he said but not understanding the intention. „I know it seems extreme, but you have to remember our participants are in a fragile state of mind.” Han Jiwook continued, still smiling softly as if he didn‘t notice the slightly angered and bewildered expressions on their faces. „They come here confused, looking for answers. We show them that the path to redemption doesn‘t need to be walked alone.”

„You sound like you speak from experience.” Minhyuk stated after hearing those words. He had noticed that Han Jiwook wasn‘t just someone who tried to convince them about the work of the conversion, but that he was absolutely convinced about the methods of the camp himself.

„I‘m a graduate.” Han Jiwook answered a little proudly. „The camp taught me to reject societal influences that were steering me in the wrong direction. And now I try to pass that knowledge on.” Minhyuk just nodded again, not knowing what else to answer. This poor man had been brainwashed for years. It was already too late for him however, Minhyuk was sure that the boys could still be saved.


	4. 愛  Ai

„Come.” Minhyuk and Kihyun followed their suspicious guide further through the terrain of camp Sunshine after sharing a knowing glaze. They were both thinking the same thing. Even if by any chance this camp wasn’t related to their case at hand they still had to do something about it. This just wasn’t right.

„When a new participant arrives, we have to evaluate their personal property before it can be returned to him.” Han Jiwook then continued to explain, while the three of them passed a family standing near the entry of the camp, sending off their son. A shy looking boy with glasses, probably not older than fifteen, was standing by his parent‘s car. His shoulders hanging low and his expression sad. His parents – a father with a hard and cold expression and a mother with tears in her eyes - were bidding him goodbye. Telling him to become a better person and grow into a man. Kihyun felt like throwing up witnessing this scene.

„Items like musical soundtracks or diaries are destroyed. Long hair is cut, dyed hair shaved, no earrings. That sort of thing.” Han Jiwook continued and described the further steps of the procedure.

„The watch is standard for everyone?” Kihyun asked. He had noticed that Han Jiwook and all the boys they had seen walking around the camp or working at the different stations had worn the exact same watch.

„Cellphones aren‘t permitted. The watches are so that no one will be late to any of their lessons. Structure and timeliness become an important part of promoting change.”

„And what if someone breaks the rules?” Minhyuk decided to ask carefully. This didn‘t seem like the kind of place that would let troublemakers off easily.

„It‘s uncommon.” was the quick answer he received. A little too quick.

„Uncommon but not unheard of.” Minhyuk remarked in a knowing tone. He knew that he once again had hit bullseye with his question. Exactly that kind of question the camp wouldn’t want anyone to ask.

„Occasionally, a student will act out or reject certain elements of the program.”

„What happens to those who act out?” Kihyun tried again. Asking the right questions often had a way better effect on people than they wanted to admit. After years of experience Kihyun and the others of the team had learned to read the smallest movements in someone’s face or the chance in someone’s actions. He could see if someone was lying or if those people were hiding something. And that was exactly the kind of expression Han Jiwook was showing at the moment.

„Advanced therapy under supervision or a senior counselor.” Han Jiwook answered after hesitating a little the moment they passed one of the public restrooms on the campus. A boy was waiting in front of the door, blocking Minhyuk‘s sight slightly but he still managed to read the `One person at a time in restroom’ sign. They were really doing everything to keep the boys away from each other. The management of the camp seemed to be even scared about the fact that the boys could see each other partly naked even during restroom breaks. 

„Could you be more specific?” he tried to investigate a little more.

„I‘m afraid I can‘t.” It was weird how Han Jiwook managed to talk in the same kind of tone and with the same kind of expression throughout the whole tour around camp sunshine despite the fact that the disliked the presence of the two agents and was uncomfortable with their questions. „Parents and staff sign confidentiality agreements to protect the parents‘ right to privacy.“ Minhyuk noticed how one of the other supervisors looked one of the rooms with a padlock.

„And what about the children‘s rights?“ he asked. How could it be that the privacy of the parents was more important than the children’s rights? He was sure that the parents who sent their sons to this kind of place were more concerned about the neighbors judging eyes on them than the wellbeing of their own children. Despite the beautiful nature and the nice and welcoming tone of Han Jiwook he felt less and less comfortable at this place.

Suddenly Han Jiwook stopped walking and turned to face them. He was trying to keep his nice facade but Minhyuk could see that his question had been the wrong one to ask.

„Was there anything else I can help you with, agents?” he asked now forcefully friendly, not being able to keep his act together now.

„Yes. We‘d like a list of program participants.” Kihyun said in the same kind of forceful politeness. He didn‘t like the place as much as Minhyuk did. „Dating back the past 15 years.”

„All we want are names.” Minhyuk then added.

„That‘s quite impossible. Those records are confidential.”

„Let‘s make them unconfidential.” Kihyun said more harshly this time, glaring at the man. „Or we‘ll be back here with a court order.”

„Wow. That‘s a lot of names.” Changkyun said impressed by the huge amount of names on the list Minhyuk and Kihyun had managed to bring back from Camp Sunshine. A long list of boys who had been forced fight against their nature, brain-washed into thinking that feeling for the same-sex were a sin or crime. Hundreds of names whom they didn’t manage to save in time. Shownu and Wonho were standing in front the screen Changkyun‘s head appeared on overly big.

„Cross the list with known associates of each victim and see if you get a hit.” Shownu ordered their youngest team member. They had to cut down this list of countless names to a smaller number they could work with or else it would be the search for the famous needle resembles in the haycock.

„And, Changkyun, flag the participants who didn‘t finish the program.” Wonho added. „They‘re most likely the ones who had to endure this so-called advanced therapy.” Deep down Wonho wished that many of those names didn’t finish the program and dropped out before it was too late, but he had little hoped.

Just from what Minhyuk and Kihyun had told them about Camp Sunshine Wonho already wanted to punch every single one of the people in charge right into the face to knock some sense into them. A place like this just had to be the origin for their current murder case and he wouldn‘t be surprised if many of the participants had actually suffered great psychological damage from it, trying to deal with the influences for the rest of their lives. They needed to do something about it, related to their case or not.

„With Xs and Os I go.”

„Thank you.” The screen turned black and Shownu and Wonho turned around to face Kihyun who was sitting far at the end of the room, looking a lot smaller than he actually was. It was obvious that the trip to Camp Sunshine had left stain‘s on his mind and soul.

„It was horrible.”, he repeated himself for the nth-time already. „All sense of individuality was stripped away. And these kids were young.”

„You‘re sure it was the same watch?” Wonho asked. He really wanted to shut down this camp as badly as he wanted to catch their murderer. Maybe even a little more.

„The unsub went to that camp!” Kihyun was sure of that and his eyes were burning with passion to do the same as Wonho wanted to. „The watch he put on Choi Yuna‘s wrist was the exact same model that all the kids were wearing.” He lifted the printed picture taken of Choi Yuna‘s arm, wearing this specific watch.

„What do you think was behind that padlocked door?” Minhyuk said to the other as he joined the rest of the team in the meeting room, sitting down next to Kihyun. 

„It could be anything.” Kihyun sighed when he answered. „I mean, come on, we‘ve all read the stories. A conversion camp was just shut down last year for using electric shock therapy on children.”

„Another stripped the kids naked and screamed profanities at them.”

Sometimes Wonho just doubted humanity as a whole. He understood the motivation behind some people’s crimes and absurdities but not in a million years would he be able to understand why people harmed children like that. How depraved and abysmal did their self-loathing have to be to be able to hurt a child just to make them feel better about themselves? How disaffected did they have to be to actually believe that such abuse could be justified in any way?

„We need to go back with a warrant.” Kihyun said and turned to look at Shownu for permission. As much as Shownu wanted to agree right away he knew that there were legal boundaries they had to consider.

„We‘re gonna need a probable cause.” he replied a little excusing.

„Let‘s find some.” Kihyun sounded as desperate as Wonho felt. „Because there is more going on at that camp than they let on.”

-

Park Jimin rubbed his hands against each other, trying to get rid of the cold sweat and the fear. As if, it would help losing the tension in his whole body.

„You gotta turn yourself in, Yoongi-hyung.” He then started, speaking quietly and carefully.

„I can‘t turn myself in. They‘re gonna put me away.” the other replied, obviously angry that his friend even considered such an option.

„What, are you gonna kill me, too?” Park Jimin couldn‘t believe the situation he was in was real and couldn’t believe what kind of person his friend had become.

„No.” a sigh left his lips. „Are you gonna turn me in?” he asked in return.

„No. No, Yoongi-hyung.” Jimin shook his head. This man was still his friend after all, his beloved friend. He knew that the other wasn’t thinking straight at the moment and that his pain was making him dangerous and yes, he did a few horrible things. However, a part of him just couldn’t let the other down like everyone else had. „You just need some help.”

Min Yoongi paced up and down in front of the living room window, still holding the gun. Trying to find a solution for his problem but there was nothing but chaos inside his head.

„I‘ve already had help. You remember that?” 

„No, I mean like real help, professional help.” Park Jimin‘s tone had changed from fearful to desperate. He somehow had to get through to the other. „It worked for me.”

„Did it?” The other asked spitefully.

„Yeah. Me and Seokjin are coming up on like six month now.”, he answered. The other just chuckled sadly not really enjoying the mention of Park Jimin’s new boyfriend, pointing with his gun towards the red stain on the carpet.

„This might throw a wrench in your happy union.” He then paused for a second before he continued. „The fact that you‘re hanging out with a serial killer and all that.”

„My God.” was all that left Jimin‘s lips in a whisper when he realized the meaning behind his friend‘s words. There had been more than just Jeon Jungkook. „Those women“, he said to no one particular. „The ones who were stabbed. That was you, wasn‘t it, Yoongi?”

„They reminded me of her.” He admitted quietly and sorrow tainted his voice.

-

„What did you get, Changkyun?” Wonho asked, as soon as Changkyun‘s face appeared on the big screen again.

„A man named Park Jimin went to Camp Sunshine in 2010. He works at the same office as our dearly departed Jeon Jungkook.” the computer genius presented his newest discovery.

„What‘s the catch?” Shownu couldn‘t see it yet.

„Well, Park Jimin‘s office just reported him missing. He went to look for Jeon Jungkook, he never returned.” Changkyun continued.

„So Park Jimin either is our unsub,” Hyungwon added from a further corner of the room „or he fell victim to him.” But before anyone could answer Changkyun continued to speak.

„I did a little research to see if he was one of the good kids or the bad kids.” Instead of Changkyun‘s face the document of incident/investigation report about Park Jimin‘s missing appeared on the screen, next to a photo of the young man’s face. „It turns out that Park Jimin‘s parents, three weeks into that conversion camp, they started making private payments to a dummy corp.” Changkyun then flashed the bank records of Park Jimin’s parents on the screen so everyone could follow his words. „That was shut down two years ago for prostitution, as in one prostitute, Lee Sangah.”

The fax machine next to Hyungwon started to beep and then started to print the arrest picture of said woman. 

„And from the amount of money they were paying her, you have to wonder what morals she wasn‘t willing to chew up and swallow.”

Shownu decided to pay Lee Sangha a visit alone. She was brought to the interrogation room of the women‘s prison in cuffs. Her grayish-green overall made her look even paler and older than she really was. The female police officer who had escorted her opened her cuffs and left them alone. Lee Sangha eyed Shownu from head to toe. She obviously hadn‘t expected to see a suited agent waiting for her.

„Miss Lee Sangha, my name is Special Agent Son Hyunwoo. I‘m with the government‘s special task force.” Shownu introduced himself as both sat down on opposite ends of the table in the middle of the room. „I‘d like to talk to you about Camp Sunshine.” It took a second before a weird smile appeared on her face.

„What are you offering?”

„You don‘t seem surprised.” Shownu stated calmly as always. Lee Sangha shook her head.

„It was a matter of time.” She sighed. „And you‘ve already got me in here for everything else.” When Shownu didn‘t say anything she continued. „So what are you gonna give me if I talk?”

„I don‘t make deals with child molesters.” Shownu answered, this time his tone was a lot sharper. 

„I didn‘t molest anyone.” Lee Sangha hissed back immediately in defense. „I was hired to help those kids.”

„Being paid to prey on your victims doesn‘t change anything.”

„I had parental consent.” The wide grin on her face didn‘t receive any reaction from Shownu.

„Is that what the camp told you to make you feel better?” he asked.

„They didn‘t have to.”

„Why? Because you didn‘t care?” The woman was about to roll her eyes, but what Shownu said next got her full attention back on him. „Or because you‘d spoken to the parents directly?” Lee Sangha didn‘t answered but she didn‘t needed to. Shownu could read her expression like an open book.

„You show absolutely no remorse for what you‘ve done.” he then stated as he observed the woman a little more in detail. His voice was still quiet but that only gave his words a greater impact. „Why should you? The smaller the victim, the easier to control. And that‘s what it‘s all about for you, isn‘t it? Control. It‘s why you‘re showing me all this false confidence.” Shownu could see her ranging behind the façade as she was trying to keep her poker face.

„I‘m done talking.” Lee Sangha answered snappily.

„Yeah, you‘ve said plenty.” Shownu agreed. He didn’t needed to know more, she had already said everything that could possibly help him. The woman looked at Shownu confused, not knowing what her mistake had been. „A professional like yourself wouldn‘t trust the camp to protect you. You had to get some sort of insurance directly from the parents, didn‘t you?” he asked, but he needed no answer. He already knew he was right. 

„Make sure that they were just as culpable for the crime. Your words against theirs wouldn‘t hold up in court, not with a child testifying to your abuse. Unless, of course, the abuse damned the parents as well.” With each word, he said he could see her expression slip more and more, which only confirmed a dark thought that had crawled its way into his mind since earlier.

„They were in the room with you, weren‘t they?” he asked, nearly hissing this time. Lee Sangha‘s silence was his answer. „You made them watch.” Shownu had enough. He rose from this chair wand walked towards the door of the room.

„Where are you going? What about my deal?” Lee Sangha asked loudly, panicking. 

„We never had a deal.” Shownu coldly said before leaving her alone.

-

Min Yoongi was sitting on the floor, his back leaning against the cold wall, the gun still tightly in his hands.

„Why didn‘t it work?” he suddenly asked, sounding tired and exhausted.

„Why didn‘t what work?” Park Jimin asked back. He was relieved that his friend seemed to have calmed down a little. He was sitting on the small sofa, his head resting against his hand and his eyes never leaving the gun in his friend‘s hands.

„With the girls. Why couldn‘t I just... Why couldn‘t I just do it?”

„You killed them. What more did you want to do?” Park Jimin sounded a little annoyed, but Min Yoongi didn‘t seem to mind.

“Not that. It.” he answered emphasizing the last word, before turning to look at Park Jimin with questioning eyes. „I could always get it up for her.”

„I don‘t know. We were teenagers. We could practically get it up over tomato soup.” The silly remark made Min Yoongi smile and Park Jimin couldn‘t help but smile along his friend. For a moment, it was as if they were kids and best friends again. Just two boys bounded. But the moment didn‘t last for long as Min Yoongi‘s smile turned into despair. 

„You ever wondered why we broke up?” he suddenly asked. His eyes looking at nothing particular as memories of their better times flashed inside his head. „You ever wonder that?”

„I‘m pretty sure that year of hell had something to do with it.” the other answered quietly and sighed. He indeed did sometimes wonder how his life would be right now if things had been different back then and he was thinking about them in those moments. However, the past couldn’t be changed and he was living a good life now, until today.

„Yeah, a year.” Min Yoongi closed his eyes. „You were lucky. I screwed up, Jimin. I thought that maybe those girls could fix me.”

„Yoongi-hyung, listen to me.” Park Jimin lend a little towards the other. „You don‘t need fixing.” He carefully and slowly rose from his position on the sofa and walked towards his friend. „You just need a little bit of help. Now, please, man just give me the gun.” He was nearly whispering as he knelt down to look the other in the eyes. „You know that this isn‘t the way.”

Suddenly Min Yoongi could smell the disgusting mix of that woman‘s cheap perfume and his father‘s cuban cigar. Could feel the annoying scratching feeling of the blanket and the bed sheets and her cold skin under his fingertips. He could hear the cursing of his father in his ears going on about how bad he was and how he was doing it the wrong way and couldn‘t get rid of the image of his father demonstrating him how to fuck a woman inside his head.

„You know what. You‘re right.” Min Yoongi suddenly whispered angrily while those memories played in his head. „I‘m not the one that needs fixing.”

-

„Changkyun, I need you to track who was at the conversion camp the same time as Park Jimin.” Shownu said over the phone as soon as he was allowed to use it again, leaving the woman’s prison with fast steps. „And then narrow that to those whose parents made payments to Lee Sangha‘s dummy corporation.”

„Ehm“, Changkyun‘s fingers quickly typed all parameters into his fishing system. „Only one name matches. Min Yoongi. He went to the same school as Park Jimin and lost his mom in a car accident when he was only a `tween.“

„All right, find out everything you can find about Min Yoongi and send the address to Kihyun and Minhyuk.”

„Yep. Sending it now.”

When Kihyun and Minhyuk stormed the apartment of Min Yoongi with the help of the local police everything was dark and empty. No one was home.

„Clear!”

„Clear. Kihyun?” Minhyuk called for the other from the bedroom. When Kihyun entered the room, he found Minhyuk standing in front of a red stain in the carpet. They definitely were on the right track.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Been a lot more motivated to draw rather than to write.   
> I'm so sorry.


End file.
